The present invention relates to office work stations and the systems in which they are employed. In particular the invention relates to an efficient office work station desk module and system having cabling management features that provide for flexibility and reconfigurability in office work space arrangement.
Modern office floor plan design includes several different floor plan arrangements of which one of the most popular and important is the uniform open floor plan. The uniform open floor plan is characterized by the arrangement of work stations with one work station per office worker in an open area (without walls) of a building and further in which the work stations are arranged in a regular or uniform pattern of rows or columns (also referred to herein as "courses") in which each work station occupies the same or substantially the same area. In addition, in the uniform open floor plan design the arrangement of cabinets, work surfaces, shelves and the like may be the same or mirror images of one another from one work station to the next. The advantages of the uniform open floor plan arrangement is that it minimizes area, it is relatively easy to design, and it can be assembled of like components. However, the uniform open floor plan design may have disadvantages associated therewith such as a lack of privacy, both visual and auditory, and a perception of being cramped or crowded.
A further disadvantage of a uniform open floor plan design relates to the difficulty in rearranging the design occasioned for example by the need to move a worker from one location to another in the office. Existing furniture and office components designed specifically for the uniform open floor plan design are relatively difficult to rearrange or reconfigure. For example, in some existing office floor plan arrangements, each office worker is provided with or is served by a combination of two types of furniture or other office equipment. The first type includes components that will follow or be moved with the worker if the worker is relocated to another location. Such components or equipment may include the worker's computer, chair, and files. The other type of equipment includes components or furniture that will stay in place in the uniform open floor arrangement to be used by another subsequent worker. These latter components include for example the desk, filing cabinet, and shelving. These two types of furniture or equipment tend to become intermingled so that when it is desired to relocate a worker, for example, the worker's desk must be emptied, the worker's drawers and shelves must be cleared, and the worker's computer must be disconnected. These operations may take considerable time and effort thereby substantially increasing the burden involved in relocating an office worker. This situation becomes especially difficult in modern offices in which each worker has electrical, data, and communications equipment.
One approach that has been developed to address the previously mentioned problem of a lack of privacy in an open floor plan design is to provide partition walls between each work station. Partition walls used in open floor plan designs come in various types and provide for varying degrees of privacy. Some types of partition walls are intended for use with free standing furniture. Other types of partition walls may provide for the support of work surfaces, cabinets, shelving, and the like. Some partition walls have even been adapted to provide for the inclusion of cables therethrough for the distribution of electrical power to work stations, as well as data and telephone communications.
Although the use of partition walls may alleviate to some extent the lack of privacy in a uniform open floor plan arrangement, partition walls may exacerbate the problem associated with relocating a worker in the uniform office floor plan. Once the electrical, data, and communications cabling for an office worker is placed in the partition walls, access thereto is limited and moving an office worker can require disconnection of the cabling serving that worker from the electrical, data, and telephone cabling in the partition wall. If the partition walls are also used to support cabinets, shelving, or work surfaces, these become relatively permanent parts of the uniform open floor plan arrangement and must be emptied of the worker's files, books, manuals, etc. when the worker is moved to another location. Another disadvantage of existing privacy partition walls is that their capacity for cabling is limited and that modern electrical, data, and communications needs of many office workers can exceed the capacity of the partition walls to provide adequate service.
The aforementioned constraints or drawbacks are especially significant in contemporary offices that attempt to be competitive by following management theories that demand a flexible, adaptable and reconfigurable staff. According to such management approaches, it is desirable to bring together or assemble staffs on a project by project basis. Each project or part of a project may be of only a limited duration to concentrate on a specific task or tasks. Management techniques such as these require that office staffing be readily expanded and contracted. This in turn requires that the office workers and their work stations should be movable with a minimum of effort. Existing office systems and office furniture, especially the systems designed for the uniform open floor plan, have not typically provided this capability.
Another consideration to be taken into account in the modern open floor plan design relates to efficient use of the floor space. Because of high rents in prime office buildings, it is desirable to minimize the space occupied by each individual office worker while at the same time providing the office worker with an efficient work area afforded with ample space and at least a perception of ample privacy.